For the first time, the Education Ministry has announced, all nursery and kindergarten children will study towards the same defined goals.
The new pre-school curriculum will feature four study disciplines: language, math, arts, and life-skills. The children will be expected, though not obligated, to recognize consonants and the vowel-signs, understand basic fractions, count to 100, and have a basic familiarity with computers. In addition, they will learn music, song, personal hygiene, physical movement, social skills, road safety, and more.
The program will be gradually introduced, with 30-40% of nurseries adopting the reading-writing program next year. The rate of implementation of the program depends largely on the willingness of the local municipalities.
Opinion is divided on the importance of the program. Some say that it has already largely been implemented by kindergarten teachers on their own, while others say that it will place unnecessary pressures on teachers, parents, and children. "They're trying to turn nurseries into schools," educational psychologist Dr. Ronen Hammer told Yediot Acharonot. "I believe that the schools' curricula should be changed such that grades 1-3 will be more flexible, with learning through playing and creativity and the like. Yet here we see the opposite, trying to turn nursery into school."
Dr. Ilana Zeiler, head of the pre-school wing in the Education Ministry, denies the charges: "We're not turning kindergarten into school, but as an educational system, we are obligated to give all our students the skills, content and values that will help them make the move up to school... There will not be tests, [but] every nursery teacher will know very well that she must have a study plan and what the children are expected to know."
The new pre-school curriculum will feature four study disciplines: language, math, arts, and life-skills. The children will be expected, though not obligated, to recognize consonants and the vowel-signs, understand basic fractions, count to 100, and have a basic familiarity with computers. In addition, they will learn music, song, personal hygiene, physical movement, social skills, road safety, and more.
The program will be gradually introduced, with 30-40% of nurseries adopting the reading-writing program next year. The rate of implementation of the program depends largely on the willingness of the local municipalities.
Opinion is divided on the importance of the program. Some say that it has already largely been implemented by kindergarten teachers on their own, while others say that it will place unnecessary pressures on teachers, parents, and children. "They're trying to turn nurseries into schools," educational psychologist Dr. Ronen Hammer told Yediot Acharonot. "I believe that the schools' curricula should be changed such that grades 1-3 will be more flexible, with learning through playing and creativity and the like. Yet here we see the opposite, trying to turn nursery into school."
Dr. Ilana Zeiler, head of the pre-school wing in the Education Ministry, denies the charges: "We're not turning kindergarten into school, but as an educational system, we are obligated to give all our students the skills, content and values that will help them make the move up to school... There will not be tests, [but] every nursery teacher will know very well that she must have a study plan and what the children are expected to know."